Search

High Hopes for a Boost in Federal Work-Life Policies.

As Barack Obama commences his first term as the president, Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman says she hopes that, under the influence of his wife Michelle, Obama will push for federal pro-family policies such as paid sick days, flextime and time for parents to attend school conferences.

“. . . [W]hat a chance Michelle Obama has to become mom-in-chief to a nation struggling to keep it together,” Goodman wrote. “As her husband said, ‘I believe in the general theory that if Mom is happy, everybody’s happy.’ That sounds like a pretty good national policy.”

Meanwhile, over on the Huffington Post writer Heather Cabot says she’s intrigued to see how Michelle Obama’s own experience as a working mom will play out in the administration and in the dialogue about parenthood. “. . . [I]n the middle of this recession, when many women now face an imperative to work (perhaps returning after years at home), [Michelle] Obama's voice on the issue of work-life balance may resonate strongly,” Cabot wrote. “She knows what it's like to be the breadwinner, too.” (January 2009)